


Sew Good

by Dextrousleftie



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anal Sex, M/M, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-02-13 12:02:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2150013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dextrousleftie/pseuds/Dextrousleftie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barret takes an intense dislike to an annoying customer who comes into his arts and crafts store. The guy is such a jerk! Or is he? And why does just the sight of him make Barret';s heart beat faster...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Barret Garner hummed under his breath as he busily sorted glossy cross stitch skeins and put them into the little plastic drawers that corresponded with the four numbers printed on the label of each skein. He loved doing thins like this, to neatly arrange his stock so that it looked its best and was pleasing to his customers’ eyes. His arts and crafts store was a bit on the small side(he liked to think of it as cozy), but it was full to the rafters with every kind of supply necessary for doing everything from quilting to scrap booking. Barret had many repeat customers, and older ladies came in almost every evening to drink coffee and take classes on how to knit, quilt, and scrap book at the big table in one corner of the store. He tried to make his store as homey and inviting as possible. His efforts paid off most of the time, so that even though his prices were a bit higher than one of the big craft stores, people still came to his store instead. Although, as one lady pointed out dryly, part of that was the fact that it cost so much for gas these days to drive to one of the big craft stores it was worth it to go to Barret’s neighborhood store instead. 

He’d opened the store partially because he enjoyed all of those things that his customers liked. He quilted, knitted, crocheted, did scrap booking, and did beadwork and made jewelry. He sold some of his better efforts either on-line or on a stand up at the register. He’d turned his hobbies into a living, and he was happy as a clam most of the time. 

His only regret might be that he was single. Really, really single. He didn’t particularly like the gay bars and clubs where most of the gay men in Santa Barbara tended to hang out, and he also didn’t like gyms. He got his exercise by long walks in the evenings. While he did enjoy watching muscular men pumping iron and sweating, he didn’t tend to like the kind of self-involved gay men who worked out relentlessly. He suspected he’d love a man who was a homebody like him, but sadly there didn’t seem to be too many gay men around here who fit that bill. Oh, well. His life was great otherwise, and maybe he’d meet somebody nice soon. You never knew.

 

He heard the bell over the door jingle merrily. There were no customers in the store right now, so that’s why he was stocking his cross stitch skeins. He immediately laid the remaining ones carefully down in the box and rose to his feet. He always gave great customer service with a smile on his face. It’s what his customers deserved. He bustled away to the register, seeing a pretty woman standing there with a taller man standing behind her eyeing the store with an incredulous look on his scruffy face.

“What the hell are we doing here?” the man demanded of the woman, sounding surly. 

“I told you, we’re going to look for cloth and supplies for a baby quilt I’m making for Mandy,” the woman replied patiently.

“Okay, let me rephrase that,” the man drawled. “What the hell am I doing here? I’M not the one who’s going to be making the quilt.”

“No, but you’re our brother. This gift will be from both you and me at the shower. So unless you want me to spend hours dragging you from baby store to department store in search of a gift that’s just from you, you’ll spend a half an hour helping me pick out the stuff for this quilt. Your choice, Shane.”

He made a disgusted grunting noise, but didn’t object anymore as Barret approached them. “Hello,” he said with a wide smile on his face. “I’m Barret. Welcome to Odds and Ends. How can I help you?”

The woman smiled back. “Hi, Barret. I’m Sarah. And this is my brother Shane. Our sister Mandy is going to have a baby in about five months, and I want to make a baby quilt for her shower. I brought this oaf along to help pick out the materials and the pattern and things like that,” she jerked a thumb back over her shoulder at her brother, who rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. 

“That’s wonderful. I have a large selection of fabrics and patterns,” Barret assured her. “Shall we go and look at them?”

“Awesome. Lead the way,” Sarah said, beaming at him. 

Barret turned and led the way to the quilting section. Behind him, her heard Shane sigh loudly. “What the heck kind of place is this?” he hissed to his sister. “I feel like I’ve entered the Twilight Zone.”

Barret stiffened in silent outrage as the woman said impatiently: “Stow it, Shane. This is a sanctum for females, just like that sports bar you hang out at is a male sanctum. You’re in alien territory, but I swear nothing will jump off the shelves and bite you.”

Barret’s lips twitched at her words. He stopped at the revolving stand that held the quilt patterns. “Here we are. We could start by picking you a design,” he said to Sarah, turning to her.

“Great. I don’t have any idea what I want to do. Pay attention, Shane. We’ve got to pick out something cute but gender neutral, since we don’t know what Mandy’s having yet.”

The man’s face bore an expression similar to the one that might have been on a soldier’s face just before the enemy started torturing him for information. Barret’s lips twitched again. Sarah began to sort through the various pattern books, turning the pages while her brother stood there looking uncomfortable. “Oh, I like this one!” Sarah exclaimed, showing the picture to Barret. It was a sunny yellow, with bears with balloons romping and playing across the surface. 

“That’s a good one. It’s simple but cute,” Barret said, looking it over. 

“What do you think, Shane?” she turned to her brother, showing him the picture. 

He eyed it. “Teddy bears? Balloons? Don’t they make any with like robots and stuff on them?”

His sister snorted. “This is for a newborn, Shane. Besides, it might be a girl.”

He shrugged. “I suppose. At least it’s not girlie puke pink.”

She gave him a LOOK, while Barret shook his head silently. “If I say yes to this one, can we go?” Shane demanded. 

His sister scowled at him. “You’re not getting off that easy, buddy boy.” She turned back to Barret. “Let’s pick out the materials to make this one,” she said happily.

 

With a disgruntled Shane trialing after them, she and Barret moved down to the bolts of quilting cloth arranged on racks further down the aisle. They discussed the merits of dozens of bolts of cloth, while Shane began to look more and more impatient and annoyed. Barret could practically feel his irritation. It pleased him to annoy this man; he’d looked at Barret’s store with an expression of total disdain on his face. There’d been something of that still when he’d glanced at Barret himself. Clearly he thought that any man who would own a store like this one was beneath his notice. What a jerk! 

 

Finally, after more than half an hour, they’d decided on every kind of cloth that Sarah wanted for the quilt. Barret pulled down the bolts one-by-one, and carried them over to his cutting counter to cut out the yardage. Sarah was chattering away about quilts and quilting with him while he did so, while Shane stood in the background and looked like he was starting to grit his teeth. Barret flashed him a glance from under his lashes, and had to struggle not to laugh at the glazed eyes and slight sneer on the man’s (admittedly rather sensual-looking) mouth. 

The piles of material grew on the table. Shane shifted from foot-to-foot and pulled out his cell phone, calling someone and putting it to his ear. “Hey,” he said into it once the person on the other end answered, “I’m stuck in La La Land with Sarah. She’s making a baby quilt for Mandy. Wanted me along, God only knows why. This is such chick stuff. I wouldn’t know a quilting pattern from a hole-in-the-head. I don’t know when I’ll be done. You guys will just have to start the game without me,” and he hung up impatiently.

Barret felt a surge of irritation rush through him. ‘Such chick stuff,’ indeed! Guess that made him a chick? What a super, uber top-of-the-line jerk! His movements became rather jerkily as he glared daggers from under his lashes at the irritating Shane. Seeing his expression, Sarah sighed and shook her head. “Sorry about him,” she whispered. “He’s such a guy. You know, rude, crude, and socially unacceptable.”

He found himself giggling at this. “Yeah,” he agreed. “It’s okay.”

She smiled at him for his understanding. “Let’s really drive him nuts,” she continued just as softly. “After this, we’ll pick out the accessories I need. Needles, thread, a frame, everything. Let’s see if we can get him to crack completely.”

He grinned at her. “Let’s do it,” he agreed, feeling wicked.

 

So for the next forty-five minutes or so, they steadily drove Shane more and more nuts as they giggled and talked and picked out of the things that Sarah would need to make the quilt, while pretending that Shane didn’t exist. The scowl on the man’s face was heartening. If looks could kill…that’d teach him to be so rude!

 

Finally, they had nothing else left to get. Sarah reluctantly put her brother out of his misery. She made Shane carry the large pile of stuff up to the register so that she could pay for it. He dumped it on the counter and stepped back, his brows drawn down over what Barret had to admit were a fine pair of hazel-grey eyes. He looked like a man who was at the end of his rope. Sarah winked at him as he rung the stuff up, and he had to stop a hoot of laughter and turn it into a cough. She handed over a credit card as he began to bag the pile of cloth and supplies up, and he ran it through the machine and gave it back to her. 

“Listen, if I have any problems with this, can I come back in and get your expertise?” she asked him.

“Of course,” he replied readily.

“Oh, great. Or maybe I’ll send Shane over here. He lives pretty close,” she said with a laughing, evil glance at her brother over her shoulder.

“Great,” he drawled. “Looking forward to it.”

Barret scowled at him in turn, finally letting his cheery façade slip so that the man could see just what he thought of him. Shane’s brows rose toward his hairline, and he looked surprised. Sarah picked up her bag and elbowed her brother in the ribs, making hum grunt. “Come on, Shane. You’ve done enough damage for one day. Bye, Barret! Thanks for all your help!”

He threw her a baffled look, but followed her out of the store silently. “Anytime, Sarah!” he called after her, meaning it. As long as she came in without her annoying brother next time, it would all be good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An apology is made.

Shane could tell his sister Sarah was steaming for some reason. She was sitting silently on the passenger side of his truck, but he could feel the waves of irritation coming off of her like they were palpable things. He threw her a sideways look as he pulled up to a light, and saw that her mouth was a little thin and that her eyes were slightly narrowed. Not a good sign. He sighed, then said: “What’d I do now?”

She huffed. “You are SO clueless, Shane!” she snapped. 

Stung, he replied: “How so?”

She sighed in a long-suffering sort of way. “You are just such a…a…GUY!” she told him. “You were being such an ass back there at the arts and crafts store! I was totally embarrassed!”

His jaw dropped. “I wasn’t being an ass!” he protested. 

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, you were,” she replied with exaggerated patience. “You acted like that sweet man’s store was some kind of freak show, and that he was the head freak for running that kind of place. You hurt his feelings, Shane. And then you stood around for an hour rolling your eyes and sighing and acting like you were really, really put-upon to have to be in a place like that. Not to mention that phone call, which was the height of rudeness. You called it ‘chick stuff’, you big oaf! Did you ever think about how poor Barret would feel, hearing you say that? I mean, my God, Shane, when you came out I thought you’d be different from a hetero male. But you’re not, are you? You’re just the same type of clueless macho jerk as most of the guys you work with. The only difference is you date guys rather than girls.” 

“Hey, the people I work with are good bunch of guys!” Shane protested hotly.

“Sure, I know that. But they don’t always act that way, Shane. Admit it, you know they don’t. And you didn’t either, back at that store. There was no call for you to hurt Barret’s feelings or treat him like a freak, just because he likes arts and crafts. You of all people, as a gay man, should know what it’s like when other people treat you like a freak because of something about you.” Her nagging tone might have irritated him, but he was basically a fair person. He moved his shoulders uncomfortably at her very palpable hit. 

“I didn’t mean to,” he said sullenly.

“I know you didn’t. But you did, Shane. That’s the important thing. You should go back and apologize to him tomorrow.” Sarah said in a gentler tone of voice.

“Oh, man,” he muttered. “Do I have to?”

He sounded so much like a chagrined little boy that her lips twitched. “Yes, you have to. Otherwise, I’ll punish you by taking you around to baby stores and making you buy a separate gift for Mandy anyway. AND I’ll make you pick it out yourself, with no help from me.”

He went cold at the very thought of this punishment. “All right, all right,” he sighed. “I’ll go back and apologize tomorrow.”

“Make sure that you’re sincere,” she chided him. “Barret’s a really sweet guy, he deserves it. Besides, you have to admit he was kind of cute,” she added slyly.

He thought about it. “Yeah,” he agreed slowly. “I guess he kind of is. Not that he’s my usual type of guy, but…”

“You should live a little, try a different kind of guy for once,” she pointed out to him with a grin. “A big, tough, macho he-man firefighter like you should probably hook up with a homey sort of guy anyway, a guy who will take care of you and pamper you. Opposites attract, brother of mine.”

He snorted, but said nothing more. Sarah grinned again and settled back in her seat, satisfied that she’d not only shamed her brother into apologizing to Barret but also might have made him think a little. A little was all that she could hope for; Shane was a great guy, but a thinker he wasn’t. Like many men, he tended to be led around by his dick. Thank God her own boyfriend was a nerdy brainiac. She loved her brother, but dating someone like him…uh, no. Definitely not.

 

Barret had shaken off his bad mood over the jerk by the time he opened the store the next morning. He loved what he did, he loved his store, and he loved his customers. He wasn’t going to let one guy ruin his mood or change the way he felt about his store or his hobbies. He spent the first hour pottering around and restocking the shelves. He got few customers this early in the morning, so its when got the bulk of his stocking and cleaning done. He dusted the shelves and rearranged the racks that held decorations for scrap bookers. He was busy, happy, and fulfilled. He was practically whistling as he went about his work. 

He got the coffee pot going and arranged cookies on a plate. In the second hour, customers began trickling in. He laughed and joked with the mostly little old ladies who came in, his bright smile cheering his customers up. The little old ladies especially loved Barret. He was such a nice boy! They didn’t even care that he was homosexual; in fact, several had tried to set him up with their own gay relatives before this. But he tended to avoid blind dates after several very bad experiences. Just because they were gay didn’t mean that he would be compatible with the old ladies’ relatives. 

 

The bell tinkled over the door, but he was busy with a customer so he finished up with her before hurrying up to the front. To his shock, the jerk from yesterday was standing by the front counter. He looked uncomfortable and out-of-place. He was wearing a plain dark t-shirt and scruffy jeans, and Barret couldn’t help but notice the muscles in the arms so casually displayed, or the very nice ass stretching those jeans at the back. 

He slowed, eyeing Shane warily. “Can I help you?” he asked skeptically.

The other man shrugged. “I came in to apologize to you,” he said abruptly.

Barret blinked in confusion. “You’re…but why?”

Shane frowned. “My sister pointed out to me yesterday that I was rude to you. I guess I kinda was; I didn’t mean to be, but this kind of place…” his eyes ran over the interior of the store rather disbelievingly. “It’s not my kind of hang-out, that’s all. But if it’s what you like, I don’t have any right to make fun of it. I’m sorry,” he added simply.

Barret felt rather squishy in his mid-section over this abrupt but obviously heartfelt apology. He also felt like giggling, though. Shane was clearly so uncomfortable about this whole thing that it was rather funny. “Apology accepted,” he told Shane aloud. 

“Cool,” Shane said. “Anyway, I was sort of wondering…” he trailed off, seeming to gather himself together. 

“Yes? What were you wondering?” Barret asked curiously.

“Uh…if maybe you’d sort of…want to get something to eat with me later on,” Shane finished.

Barret’s mouth opened a little. “Are you asking me out on a date?!” he said incredulously.

It was Shane’s turn to blink. “What’s wrong with that?” he asked defensively.

Barret pulled himself together. “Nothing,” he replied weakly. “It’s just that…I assumed you were straight, that’s all,” he said feebly.

“Oh. Well, I’m not,” Shane said. “So what about it? You want to get something to eat?”

This abrupt question tickled Barret’s fancy. He had to fight very hard not to dissolve into helpless giggles. Why would Shane be surprised that he’d mistaken him for a straight man? Oh, dear. He had to get himself under control, which wasn’t easy. 

“I guess I could do that,” he said through his teeth so that he wouldn’t burst out laughing in Shane’s face. 

“All right. When do you close this place?”

“Six-thirty.”

Shane nodded. “I’ll come and pick you up then,” he told Barret.

“Shouldn’t I go home first? To get ready and everything?” Barret asked him.

A blank look. “I was just going to hang out a sports bar I know,” he said. “They make great cheeseburgers.”

“Oh, I see,” Barret said weakly, fighting off another bout of giggles.   
“I’ll see you at six-thirty, then,” Shane said, then departed as abruptly as he’d come.

Barret stood by his counter and felt almost bewildered. He had a date tonight with the jerk from yesterday! And they were going to a…sports bar…Dear God, he’d never, ever set foot in a sports bar before this! He never even PLAYED sports, or watched them, or anything! Plus, he was pretty sure that such places were full of straight men. How would they take his appearance there? He began to feel a little worried. What had he gotten himself into?

 

He worried about it all the rest of the day, in the back of his mind. He wished that he had Shane’s phone number, so he could call and cancel the date. Why had he agreed to go out with the man in the first place?!  
Oh, well, he knew why. He’d been mesmerized by those bulging muscles and that fine ass. Not to mention those eyes, which were striking and made him shiver a little when they looked at him. It was just physical attraction, that’s all. He clearly had nothing in common with the other man. While he’d apologized nicely, Shane still looked at his store like it was some alien landscape that he’d strayed into by accident. 

He dithered about telling Shane that he didn’t want to go out with him after all, then changed his mind, ten times that day. By six-thirty, when he cleaned up the store and locked the door behind him, he was a nervous wreck. His heart jumped in his chest when he saw a shiny red truck pull up at the curb, and Shane got out of it. He opened his mouth to tell Shane that he’d changed his mind, but the other man forestalled him by saying: “You ready to go? Do you need me to drive you anywhere before we go to the bar?”

This considerate question made what he was going to say dry up in his throat. “Just to the bank,” he croaked. “So I can drop off my receipts for the day into the night deposit. If that’s all right.”

“Of course it is. Hop in,” and Shane startled him even further by opening the truck’s passenger side door and holding it for him. Cursing himself for his weakness, Barret walked over and climbed into the cab. Shane closed the door after him, and he couldn’t change his mind yet again. He clutched the bank bag in his lap as Shane went around and got into the driver’s side. “You’ll have to tell me where to go,” he remarked to Barret.

So he gave directions to the local branch of his bank, and Shane started the truck. Caught between feeling like a man going on an adventure and to his certain doom, Barret closed his eyes as Shane pulled away from the curb.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane and Barret's first date is off to a rocky start...

Shane glanced sidelong at his passenger. He had to admit, Barret Garner wasn’t anything like the guys he usually dated. The other man was slim and rather delicate-looking, with a piquant face that frankly he might have classified as a little ‘girlie’. The mop of sunny curls added to this impression, as did a gently curving pink mouth. Not to mention the fact that the guy ran an arts and crafts store…

He grimaced silently. He knew he was stereotyping Barret, just as so many straight guys did. It wasn’t right, but he couldn’t help himself. He supposed it was partly because he spent all of his time around such macho men(firefighters often tended to be very testosterone-driven and full of machismo, maybe because they had such dangerous jobs), so he wasn’t quite sure what to make of someone like Barret Garner. But his sister had been right. Maybe it was time for him to try a different type of guy. Who knew? It might work out.

“We’re almost there,” he said aloud, making the other man jump a little. They’d both been silent for at least ten minutes, since he’d stopped at the bank branch so that Barret could drop off his night deposit. Shane knew he ought to be trying to come up with witty and urbane conversation, but his mind remained stubbornly blank. He was used to talking to his dates about sports, television shows(definitely not the high-brow kind), hobbies, that sort of thing. Somehow he suspected that Barret wouldn’t be interested in hearing about his kayaking trip, and he sure as hell didn’t care about things like quilting and sewing and the like. 

“Oh, that’s good,” Barret said a little weakly. He shot Shane a sideways glance. His face looked a little baffled. Clearly he was wondering why he’d agreed to go out with Shane in the first place. He sighed internally. Maybe this had been a bad mistake after all. 

“Look, this is stupid,” Shane began abruptly after a few minutes more of deadly silence.

Barret glanced at him again. The other man’s face bore an expression of resignation. He was waiting for Shane to dump him off at the curb and drive away. The firefighter fought back a grim bark of laughter. “What I mean is, I keep stereotyping you,” he explained aloud. “I’ve never dated a guy like you before. I mean one who’s into arts and crafts, and stuff like that,” he hurried on as Barret’s brows drew down in puzzlement. “It’s wrong, because I know you’re still a guy and all. But I don’t know how to act or talk around you. I work with a bunch of guys who are really macho, and I’ve always sort of gravitated to that sort of guy in my love life, too. But my sister Sarah pointed out to me that maybe it was time that I tried somebody different, and I think she’s right. That’s why I asked you out. But I’m apologizing in advance if I act like a jerk sometimes to you. I don’t mean to be, it’s just that I have to learn as I go with a gay guy like you. I want to get to know you better,” he added simply. “I really do.”

Barret was silent for a moment, then he nodded. “Okay. Thanks for explaining that to me. I didn’t really get why you asked me out at all, and frankly you didn’t seem that enthusiastic or anything. I was starting to wonder if you lost a bet or something.”

He laughed explosively. “No, I swear. I guess I’m just ’gay man’ impaired, is all. I’ve always dated guys who were just like straight guys except that they like other men.”

“You mean, guys who are just like you,” Barret remarked drolly.

He grinned. “Yeah, I’ll admit it. But now that I think about it, it’s really not great to date another version of yourself, huh? No wonder some of my relationships were pretty boring.”

Barret giggled, a silvery sound that made funny things start to happen in his abdomen. “I’ll bet,” Barret commented. 

“What’s your typical kind of guy?” Shane asked him curiously.

“Oh, I don’t know. I guess I’ve always gravitated toward the serious, intelligent sort of men,” Barret remarked musingly. 

Shane snorted. “So you’re going for something different too, huh?” 

Open laughter, just as musical as the giggling. “Yes, I suppose so,” Barret said when he could speak again. “I suppose it was partially curiosity that made me say yes when you asked me out,” he went on. “I’ve certainly never dated a straight guy, or one who seemed like a straight guy except for the fact that he’s gay, either. It ought to be interesting.”

“For both of us,” Shane agreed.

 

Barret glanced at his companion as Shane pulled into the parking lot of the sports bar. The unexpected little talk that they’d had had made him feel better about saying yes to going out with Shane. Before that, he’d had no idea why the other man had asked him out. He’d seen Shane’s reaction to his store, and that that reaction extended to him. So he was sort of in the way of being a kind of science experiment for Shane? He could live with that. Because he felt the same way about going out with a guy like Shane. 

He got out of the truck, since Shane showed no signs of coming around and letting him out. He eyed the bar with apprehension as Shane led the way inside. It was kind of dark, and there were TVs mounted everywhere showing various sports events. A small crowd of mostly men were sitting at the bar or at small round tables, watching the TVs, They were mainly drinking beer, and they were almost uniformly dressed in jeans and t-shirts or some variation thereof. 

Barret swallowed heavily. This was SO not his sort of place! He was surrounded by straight men, and from past experience he knew that many of them would take a dislike to him on sight because it wasn’t that hard to tell that he was gay. And what form that dislike might take was uncertain…he hoped he wasn’t the victim of a gay bashing on his first date with Shane. That was sure to kill the evening, definitely…

A hysterical giggle welled in his throat, but he forced it back as Shane led him to a booth. He sat down nervously, looking around rather wildly. A few of the other patrons of the bar stared back at him, and he could read in at least two of their expressions a growing disgust and contempt. He ducked his head and stared miserably at the tabletop, his shoulders hunched. It was awful to be afraid. But he couldn’t help it, especially since he was such a little guy. He wasn’t like Shane, who was tall, rangy, muscular. There was no way he could fight back effectively if someone attacked him.

A waitress in a tight top arrived, and took their orders. Shane ordered for him, which made Barret frown slightly. What if he didn’t WANT a cheeseburger with onion rings? He sniffed and looked away across toward the bar, refusing to meet anybody’s eyes. 

 

A sudden roar made him jump, his eyes going huge and wild. A large group of men who’d been watching a football game on one of the TVs were cheering and shaking their fists in the air. Some were slapping others on the back. Barret tried to force himself to relax, but he was too high strung. He was practically shaking. He hated this place. He hated the noise, the smells, the hard-eyed stares he was receiving. He’d never been the least bit interested in sports, so none of the games being shown around him drew his attention. He supposed he should concentrate on Shane, but his date was currently watching one of the TVs showing a basketball game. He sipped at a beer as he did so, not even seeming to be aware of his date.

Okay, this experiment was not going well! Once he’d forced down the food when it arrived, he’d make Shane take him back to his store. Then he’d forget the firefighter ever existed. Clearly they didn’t have a thing in common, and Shane was also a terrible date. If he’d cared in the least, he’d have noticed how uncomfortable and unhappy Barret was here. He sighed, playing with the unopened bottle of beer in front of him. He didn’t like beer. He preferred wine, when he drank at all. 

He jumped again when Shane’s voice spoke suddenly from across the tabletop. “You okay?” he asked Barret abruptly.

“Sure,” he replied tightly, not looking up.

A snort. “Sure. You hate it here, don’t you?”

Barret glanced up at him from under his lashes. “Yes,” he said, deciding to be brutally honest. “I’m sorry.”

Shane shook his head. “Don’t be. I should have known not to bring you here. You’re a not a sports and burger type of guy. Let’s get out of here.”

“Are you sure?” Barret asked hopefully, feeling a surge of relief. 

Shane nodded, and flicked a hand at the waitress to cancel their food order and pay for the two beers. “We’ll go someplace else. I know this little Italian place, makes the best pasta. Sound good?” he asked as he turned back to Barret.

“It sounds wonderful,” he replied fervently. 

 

The little Italian place was cozy, and the food was delicious. Best of all, the other customers weren’t staring at them. Barret relaxed and began to enjoy himself. He ordered a glass of red wine, while Shane had another beer. “So you’re a firefighter?” He began at last, to start a conversation.

A nod. “What’s that like?” Barret asked brightly, thinking ‘Give me something to work with here!’

Shane shrugged. “Actually, it can be pretty boring sometimes. Guess that makes up for the times we go to fires, because there’s nothing boring about that.”

“I’ll bet,” Barret agreed. He shuddered. “I could never do that. I hate fire. I don’t even like fireplaces.”

Shane’s lips quirked in visible amusement. “Guess it’s a good thing that you live in California then, eh?” He mused. “Since it never gets cold enough to require a fireplace.”

“That’s true. But those forest fires always scare the crap out of me. I wish this drought would end,” he added with another shiver. 

“I wish it would, too. We always get called out to back up the smokejumpers whenever there’s a forest fire. I’ve seen some hellish infernos out in the mountains,” he told Barret somberly.

“That sounds awful. I can’t even imagine,” Barret remarked sympathetically.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do. Most of the time. But there’s been a couple of times that I faced off with the Grim Reaper, and once or twice I thought he’d win.”

Barret shook his head. “I couldn’t do it,” he said wonderingly. “I couldn’t risk my life for my job. You’re a hero, Shane.”

The admiration in his voice and eyes made the other man look uncomfortable. But he also looked faintly pleased. There was nothing better for a man’s ego than to be admired. Especially when it was clearly sincere.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A kiss and some understanding...

Barret found that he was actually enjoying himself. He and Shane had found a few things that they had in common to talk about, including a liking for raucous comedy movies. Shane said that he was surprised that Barret would like such low humor, and Barret laughed at him. “Do I look like a delicate china doll whose sensibilities might be hurt by a good belly laugh?”  
Shane eyed him across the table. “Uh…what are ‘sensibilities’?” He asked warily.

Barret began to giggle, a charming sight. Shane stopped looking so wary and enjoyed the way that Barret’s blue eyes crinkled up at the corners when he laughed, and the way the soft pink mouth curled. He felt a sudden urge to taste that mouth, to see if it tasted as sweet as it looked. He moved uncomfortably in his chair, aware of the press of his erection against the front of his jeans. 

“Never mind,” Barret chortled after a moment. “I just like infantile humor, I guess. Although I also like witty things, too. Anything that makes me laugh is good.”

“Agreed,” Shane said, sipping at his beer. “Anything that makes you laugh is definitely good.”

Something in his voice made Barret catch his breath, and color swarmed up into his pale cheeks. He swallowed heavily as Shane consulted his watch.   
“This has been great,” he remarked, clearly meaning it, “But I’ve got to be up early in the morning. I’ll take you back to your store now.”

“Okay,” Barret said, reluctantly. He really had been enjoying himself enough that he hated the fact that the evening was going to end so soon.  
Shane got to his feet, snagging the check on his way up. Barret would have protested, but he waved him off. “I’ve got it this time, because I asked you out,” he pointed out. 

Barret accepted this, and they went to the cash register. Barret left a generous tip on the table as his contribution to the evening. Outside, the night was warm and sultry. They headed for Shane’s truck together. “I really had a good time tonight, Shane,” Barret told him as he climbed in the passenger’s side. 

“Yeah, me too,” Shane agreed laconically as he started the engine. “I’ll admit…I wasn’t sure that I would. I mean…you’re just not my usual type of guy at all,” he added, glancing at Barret.

“And you’re not my usual type at all, either,” Barret agreed. “But sometimes it pays to take a chance.”

“Yeah,” they drove in silence for a minute, then Shane said: “My next day off is Tuesday. You maybe wanna go do something with me?”

Barret felt his heart speed up and pound in his chest. “I’d like that,” he said, “If you don’t mind waiting until I close the shop for the day.”

“No problem. We could go see a movie. One of those raunchy comedies we both like so much,” Shane said with a grin.

“That sounds great. I’d love to,” Barret told him honestly.

 

Shane nodded in satisfaction. They said little more until he pulled up in front of Barret’s shop. Shane stopped the engine and turned to Barret. “How about a goodnight kiss?” He asked, his voice husky. 

Barret’s breath caught, and his mouth opened a bit. Shane leaned over and set his fingers on Barret’s chin, drawing him in for a surprisingly gentle kiss that made Barret’s head spin. He made a low, breathy sound in the back of his throat, and Shane’s mouth instantly became more aggressive. His tongue invaded Barret’s mouth, curling over Barret’s own tongue, and he closed his eyes and lost himself to the pleasure of that dynamic, hot, eating kiss. He wasn’t aware that he hadn’t been breathing until Shane pulled away, and he found he was panting desperately for air.

His eyes flickered open. Shane was staring at him hungrily, and the look in his eyes made Barret want to moan. Shane took in a deep breath and shuddered. “I’ve got to…go…” he said hoarsely. “Got to be at work pretty early in the morning.”

Barret nodded silently. His fingers began to fumble with the door handle. “I’ll call you,” Shane remarked behind him. 

“Please do,” Barret managed to say as he finally got the truck door open. He was glad that he could actually speak, since his mind had short-circuited there for a moment from that stunning kiss. 

He climbed out of the truck, then turned back and smiled at Shane. “Thank you for the great evening,” he said. “I really enjoyed it. Goodnight, Shane.”

“Goodnight, Barret. I’ll definitely call you,” Shane raised a hand in farewell as Barret closed the door behind him and waved. Shane roared off into the night, leaving a bemused Barret standing on the curb with his hand raised to his lips.

 

It took him a minute to get moving, and he wandered away toward his little car. Wow, had that kiss been amazing! His whole body was still throbbing, and Barret knew with certainty that if Shane hadn’t had top go to work tomorrow morning he’d probably have taken the man home with him tonight. Good Lord, he was turning into such a slut! Sleeping with a guy on the first date?! Barret wasn’t usually the type who would do that, despite the fact that he was a gay man. He never did casual hook-ups or one-night stands. And he knew next to nothing about Shane. Not even…his cheeks heated as he realized this…his last name! He’d forgotten to ask what it was! Yet he’d been prepared to go to bed with a guy when he didn’t even know his last name! Oh, man! His hormones were definitely getting the better of him! 

“You behave,” he muttered to his own penis, which ignored him and continued to be unruly. “We’re a good boy, don’t you know that? Sheesh, one kiss and I’m turning into a ho bag! Get a hold of yourself, Barret!”

So that’s what he did, once he got home. But in this case, ‘getting a hold of himself’ meant going into his bathroom and jerking off in the tub, with his eyes closed and images of Shane running across the backs of his lids. He came with a surge, moaning out Shane’s name, his hips bucking. Then he went limp and rested his head against the back of the tub, sighing. ‘I am losing it,’ he thought to himself. ‘Really, really losing it.’

 

Barret’s shop was open on Saturdays and part of the day on Sunday, and closed on Mondays, because he got the biggest percentage of his customers on the weekends. This wasn’t a problem, since he had no personal life to speak of so he didn’t miss having weekends off. And he loved chatting with his customers anyway, helping them plan their latest projects and get the materials for them. 

His phone rang as he was handing an elderly lady the bag of scrap booking materials she’d just bought. He smiled at her and saw her out the door before he scrambled to pull out his cell phone and answer it. “Hello? Barret’s Odds and Ends Craft Store. How can I help you?”

“Still working? Don’t you ever take any time off?” he heard Shane’s voice ask.

He grinned. “Yes, I do. I have part of Sunday and all of Monday off. Hi, Shane. Are you calling from work?”

“Yeah. Not much happening here right now, so I thought I’d call and talk to you.”

“Okay. But I’m kind of busy right now. So if I have to hang up on you at any time, please don’t be offended.”

“No problem. I might have to go at any time, too, if we get a call about a fire. You never know when one might come in.”

“So we both know this call might end at any time. As long as we know the rules, that’s good,” Barret remarked cheerfully.

A snort. “So, what are you doing right now?”

“I just sold a customer a lot of scrap booking supplies,” Barret told him. 

“Huh. What’s with this whole scrap booking craze, anyway? My mom is into that, too. I just don’t get it,” Shane replied.

Barret laughed. “It’s just ladies prettying up their photo albums,” he explained. “And doing themed pages, like weddings and birthdays and things like that. It’s a hobby that a lot of older ladies like to do in their spare time. All of them have lots of family photos and whatnot, and they like to put them in decorated albums. That’s all there is to it.”

“Oh. I see. I guess that makes sense. Everybody has hobbies to pass the time, especially when you’re retired and don’t have much else to do.” Shane mused.

Barret nodded. “Exactly! I sell lots of supplies to older ladies who do hobbies like quilting. It’s the same as older retired gentlemen doing woodworking and going fishing and things like that.”

“But you do that stuff, too, and you’re not retired,” Shane said, his voice teasing.

Barret felt his face coloring a little. “I just enjoy doing crafts,” he said stiffly. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“Not at all,” Shane assured him. “I mean, I like to watch and play football, which if you really think about it is as stupid and pointless as doing crafts. Even more, really, if you think about it. At least you get a quilt or a scarf or whatever out of the deal, but when the football game’s over there’s nothing to show for watching it.”

Barret felt pleasure rise up in him. Shane understood! “Well, I’m sure that football’s really exciting,” he said aloud.

Shane chuckled on the other end of the line. “It is. Also, watching a bunch of muscular guys in tight uniforms tackling each other is a pleasure that any gay man can appreciate,” he added slyly.

Barret considered that. “I’ve never thought about it that way,” he said. 

“You should. Some of those players are real hunks. Also, they pat each other on the ass as a victory gesture.”

Barret gasped. “They do?! Really?!”

Shane laughed. “Yeah, they do. And they’re all straight, dontcha know. Totally straight,” he said ironically.

“Maybe I’ll watch a football game sometime,” Barret said thoughtfully.

“We can watch one together. Maybe I can get you hooked. Even if I don’t, it’ll be nice to show you what I like about the sport. And maybe you can show me what you like about doing crafts. We could meet in the middle, right?”

“Absolutely,” Barret said as warmth rose up in his chest. “I’d enjoy that.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Barret and Shane are trying something different...

Barret sat on his couch and worked on his latest quilting project, a sixteen-square quilt with sprays of flowers and fruit on a white background. He was making it for his cousin Rachel, who liked old-fashioned furniture and who he knew would appreciate this quilt for her large sleigh bed. He was going to give it to her for Christmas this year. He was hand sewing it, because he’d always preferred to hand sew his quilts rather than machine sew them. They were more personal that way, and he liked his small, neat stitches anyway. Besides, he was so used to sewing while doing other things that he could do just about anything by now, including watching TV. 

He was watching a documentary on the Discovery Channel, all about the lions of the Serengeti. It was pretty good, and his fingers moved without much thought behind them as he paid attention to the documentary instead. He wondered idly what Shane would think about spending an evening doing something like this. He’d probably hate it. He liked excitement, and even Barret had to admit that an evening sewing and watching documentaries wasn’t exactly an adventure. But this was just who he was. He wasn’t exciting. He didn’t love action movies and violent sports or things like that.  
He sighed, once again wondering if his experiment of dating a man like Shane was a good idea. 

But he wanted to try. Who knew what might come of it? They might find that they were completely incompatible, but so what? If they did, then they did. It would just be a loss of a bit of his time. He wanted to try, anyway. Because he was very attracted to Shane, in spite of how different the other man was from him. He squirmed on the couch as visions of what the masculine, testosterone-laden firefighter might be like in bed. Whoo! Was he going to have good masturbation material tonight in bed!

He giggled as a pun about fire hoses ran through his head, his eyes crinkling at the corners. But then his attention was captured by the television once more, as a majestic male lion strutted over to a female and mounted her. The female didn’t look particularly happy about it, but Barret found that the sight of the male mounting his mate and biting the back of her neck was kind of turning him on. He sighed. It really had been a long time since he’d gotten any, if he was being turned on by the sight of lions humping. Animal porn. Who woulda thunk it?

 

 

Shane reclined back in the comfortable leather chair in the fire house’s rec room, glaring at his fellow firefighter Brad. Brad had the remote control for the TV, and the idiot was flipping through the channels like he thought the television was a NASCAR racecar and he was Dale Earnhart Jr. Shane didn’t much care for the masculine habit of lighting fast channel flipping, much as he liked so many other manly sorts of things. He wished that Brad would pick a channel, any channel, and stick with it. 

His friend and co-worker Frank came and sat down next to him, sprawling back in his own chair and stretching out his long legs in front of him. “So how’s life been for ya lately, Shaney?” he asked cheerfully. “Getting any?”

“Not at the moment,” Shane replied dryly.

Frank laughed. “Hey, you know I live vicariously through you. As an old married man with kids, my love life is utterly boring. Not that I want to hear any details, but I’d think a stud fireman like you could have hot guys wanting to play with your hose every single night.”

“Of course,” Shane said lazily. “But I’m trying to move away from one-night stands and casual hook-ups. Trying something different.”

“Like what?” Frank asked curiously.

Shane laughed dryly. “Like dating, you big doof,” he replied caustically.

Frank put an exaggerated hand to his heart. “NO!! You, dating? You want to tame the beast? How can you do this to all of us boring old married men, Shane?”

“Sorry I can’t be your only source of entertainment anymore, Frank,” Shane told him with a shrug. “Though this thing might not work out, and I might go back to my wild ways soon. I dunno. This guy is really different from any of the ones I’ve hooked up with before.”

“How do you mean?” Frank asked curiously.

He shrugged again. “Well, he’s sort of…girly. Not really girly, just maybe a little bit…feminine, I don’t know. Not a jock or a gym rat, that’s for sure. He likes crafts and things. He runs a craft store, in fact,” Shane explained. 

Frank cocked his head to the side. “Huh. Maybe that’s a good thing,” he remarked musingly.

Shane’s brows lifted a little. “What do you mean?”

Frank smiled. “I always dated girls that were athletic and a little bit crazy,” he began. “That was my type. Then I met Ellie. And she was a sweet homebody type, nothing like any of the girls I’d dated before. I thought that we wouldn’t work out, but there was just something about her…I loved the fact that she took care of me, that she was always there for me, that she liked me for who I was even though I’m just a dumb macho firefighter. I’ll take home cooked meals over drinking and partying any day now. I love it when we sit around the dinner table talking about our day, and the kids get all rowdy. There’s no better feeling, believe me. And maybe that’s what you need too, buddy. A change from what you’re used to. You may find you like it a lot.”

Shane stared at him. “And you don’t miss those other types of girls at all? Ever?” he asked.

Frank shook his head. “Nah. Every time I see Ellie smile, I know I made the right choice. And I’m happy about it. You might be, too, you never know,” he slapped Shane on the knee companionably.

Shane nodded. “Maybe I will. In the meantime, can we rescue the remote from Brad? I’m starting to get a headache.”

Frank guffawed and got up to go over and wrestle the remote from Brad’s hands, so that he could pick a channel for them to watch. He chose a baseball game, which made all of the men in the room happy. Even Brad, who’d just been channel surfing automatically like so many men were want to do.

 

Tuesday afternoon, when Barret was dusting the shelves in his store, the bell over the door rang. He rose to his feet, and was a little surprised to see Shane walking through the door. He felt a fluttering in his abdomen as he walked up to greet the fireman. “Hey,” Shane drawled. 

“Hi,” he smiled, and saw a rather strange expression run over Shane’s face. “What?” he asked.

A shake of the head. “Nothing. I just came in to talk to you about our date tonight. Did you have any thoughts on where you wanna go?”

Barret felt a smile lift his lips. It was so nice of Shane to come and ask him what he wanted to do. “Uhh, dinner again? And maybe we could do something else afterward. Go dancing or something.” 

Shane blinked. “You like to dance?” He asked, sounding surprised. 

It was his turn to blink. “What? A guy like me can’t like dancing?” He asked tightly, with a slight edge to his voice.

Shane looked apologetic. “Sorry. I was just making assumptions. Sure, we can go dancing. I like to dance.”

Barret nodded, relaxing. “I know this club that’s not too sleazy or anything where we can go. It’s not a hook-up joint,” he explained. 

“Sounds good.”

 

Before he could say anything else, the bell over the door tinkled again. One of his elderly lady customers came in. When she saw Barret standing and talking to Shane, a smile widened her mouth. “Oh, Barret, good afternoon,” she trilled. “Is this your boyfriend? He’s SO handsome!”

Shane’s brows jerked up. A smile started to lift his lips as color flooded into Barret’s peaches-and-cream skin. “Oh, Mrs. Everly,” he began, looking embarrassed.

The older lady came over and took Shane’s hands in her own. “My, you do have good taste,” she told Barret, who turned even redder. Shane’s lips twitched as he fought not to grin.

“I think I have good taste, too, Ma’am,” he told the elderly lady. “After all, I asked Barret out in the first place.”

She laughed, tinklingly. “Yes, you do. He’s such a sweet boy. He deserves somebody nice. You’re nice, aren’t you, young man? You’ll take good care of him?”

“Of course, Ma’am,” he said politely. 

She nodded. “Barret, I need some more yarn for the socks I’m knitting for my grandkids,” she said, turning to the red-faced shopkeeper.

“O-Of course. Let’s go look at the yarn,” Barret said. “Shane?”

“I’ll call you later after you close the store,” Shane told him. “I’ll come and pick you up, and we can decide what restaurant to go to.”

“Yes. I’ll talk to you later,” Barret watched him walk out of the store, then became aware that his customer was watching his face and grinning at him. 

He lifted his shoulders silently, ducking his head a little. She chuckled. “I think you like that one, Barret,” she remarked. “Maybe you’ve finally found the right one, eh?”

He looked up at her from under his lashes. “Maybe,” he said softly. “I don’t know yet.”

She laughed again. “But I do, young man,” she remarked, patting his arm. “You look at him the same way I looked at my Jerry, all those years ago when we first met. I could have had any boy I wanted,” she went on, “They swarmed around me like bees to honey. But I didn’t want anyone but Jerry, not from the moment I first saw him. And I never wanted anybody else, not for all the years we were married. I miss him so much,” she sighed, her voice full of sadness.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Everly,” he said, giving her a hug.

She patted his back. “You’re such a sweetie, Barret. You deserve the best out of life. I hope that young man turns out to be the best for you.”

“I do, too,” he replied softly. “I do too.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They feel like dancing, oh, dancing....

Barret closed up the store that evening with a feeling of anticipation coiling inside of him. When he turned after locking the door behind him, he found Shane leaning back against the door of his truck, waiting for him. His breath caught when he saw that Shane was dressed in a sexy short-sleeved shiny-blue shirt with zippers on the front, along with a pair of tight black jeans that hugged every bit of his long legs and tight ass. Barret felt his stomach muscles tighten and his groin stir to life with a vengeance, and suddenly his mouth was so dry he had to swallow thickly. “Y-You look great,” he husked, his eyes refusing to rise to meet Shane’s no matter how hard he tried.

“Thanks,” the firefighter answered above his head, a note of amusement mingled with something else - something DARKER - in his voice. “You ready?”

“Just about. I just need to drop off my deposit and find a bathroom where I can change. I brought clothes to go dancing in,” he explained, lifting up a canvas bag slung over his left shoulder. 

“Okay, sounds great. Come on. We’ll find you a bathroom.”

They got into Shane’s truck, Barret fumbling with the seat belt. He kept darting glances over to the driver, his eyes drinking in the sight of Shane’s sexy outfit up close. The way the muscles moved under that shirt…he had to reach up and surreptitiously wipe away a trail of drool. He became aware of an amused pair of eyes resting on his face, and blushed deeply when he realized that they’d reached an intersection and were waiting for a light to change. Shane had caught Barret ogling him. 

Shane chuckled. “See something you like?” He growled softly.

Barret’s color deepened, but he answered readily. “Yeah. You look amazing in those clothes.”

The light changed, so Shane pulled away and put his eyes back on the road ahead of him. But he said: “I’m glad you like them. They’re my party clothes. And at least we don’t have to worry that we’re not attracted to each other, right?”

Barret nodded, croaking: “Right.”

Shane grinned as he deftly wove through the evening traffic. “That’s good. You’re not the kind of guy who’s just attracted to anybody, are you? Some guys could sleep with an axe murderer as long as he had a dick attached, but I’m betting that you’re not like that.”

“No, I’m not,” Barret replied. 

“Then it makes me feel to good to know that I’m one of the guys who does attract you,” Shane flashed him a lightning fast smile. “If you’re picky and have good taste, then that means I must be awesome.”

This logic made Barret giggle helplessly. “Yes, you must be,” he agreed merrily.

 

After he dropped off the bank deposit, Barret used a bathroom nearby to change into his date clothes. His clothes weren’t as sexy as Shane’s were; just a nice dress shirt of a sky blue that matched his eyes, and a pair of nice pants that were a little tighter than he normally wore. So he was delighted by the look of sincere appreciation(and blatant lust) that his reappearance earned him from Shane. He felt heat surge in him when the firefighter’s eyes ran over him from head to toe, and felt like he wasn’t wearing any clothing at all. And boy, oh, boy, did he wish that he wasn’t actually wearing any clothes! He’d love to get naked with this sexy hunk of man, he really would!

“Nice,” Shane purred aloud. “Let’s get going. I want to see how a crafty kind of guy dances.”

 

 

Barret stood on the dance floor and stared in helpless lust at his companion. He’d stopped even swaying in place, because he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Shane. The man was sex on two legs, and when he danced! Oh, when he danced! Barret’s poor brain was threatening to implode, and take the rest of him with it. He whimpered, his eyes trained on the sight of Shane dancing nearby with a guy in the tightest pair of leather pants that he’d ever seen.

Barret might have felt jealous of the guy that Shane was writhing against, except for the fact that the firefighter had initially blown the guy off when he’d first hit on Shane. He’d indicated that he was here with a date, and that he wasn’t interested in the guy’s flirtations. The other man had taken it well, though he’d thrown Barret an envious look that had been good for his ego. But when he’d then asked if he could at least dance with Shane for a bit, as a sort of consolation prize, Barret had surprised Shane by saying yes. What did he have to worry about? Shane wouldn’t do anything with this guy. He just knew that. And he wanted to see Shane dance with someone who actually had some rhythm, because he was kind of hopeless. And boy, had he gotten his wish!

Shane and the sexy guy were throwing their hips toward each other, their abdomens writhing, their eyes locked. Some people further away might have mistaken this for upright, clothed, sex, but Barret could clearly see that Shane’s eyes held a look of challenge rather than lust. He was urging the guy to show his stuff, to prove how good he was. His lips were slightly curled in a sardonic grin, and the other guy was answering the challenge with gusto and giving back as good as he got. It was the most amazing, sexy sight he’d ever seen.

“That’s your guy?” a voice asked nearby, and he blinked as he was drawn out of his lust coma. He saw another club goer standing next to him, watching the show.

“Yeah,” he croaked, sipping at his drink to try to moisten his mouth even a little bit.

“Lucky,” the guy said, shaking his head. 

“Yes, I am,” Barret agreed readily. 

The guy threw him an interested look. “He is, too,” he added with a smile.

Barret felt warmth coil in the pit of his stomach. “Thanks.”

“Bet he’s a monster in bed, with moves like that,” the guy added idly.

Barret gulped as his imagination ran wild. ‘I hope to find that out soon’ he said inside his own head, his eyes going back to the dance competition taking place out on the floor beneath the glittering disco ball. ‘Really soon.’

 

Shane egged on the guy matching his moves, grinning as he blinked sweat out of his eyes. He was thoroughly enjoying himself. He got to show off to Barret(and the rest of the club as well, not that he cared about that) and blow this guy out of the water at the same time. He could admit that the admiration and awe in Barret’s pretty eyes made him feel a hundred feet tall. It also made certain parts of his body more than a bit unruly, and he thrust out his hips to display his raging cock to all and sundry. Hopefully, sometime this evening he’d drag that little blonde cutie out of this club and put that thing to good use. He didn’t think he’d have much trouble talking Barret into doing the horizontal mambo with him, not after this. The blonde was practically melting into a puddle there at the edge of the dance floor.   
“You’re good!” his dance partner called out over the pounding, throbbing techno beat they were dancing to. 

His grin widened. “So are you!” he replied. “Though not as good as me!”

The guy laughed, shaking his head, as he twisted and writhed and threw his arms up over his head with abandon. “That’s a pretty big…ego…you’ve got there!”

Shane laughed. “That’s not the only thing I’ve got that’s big!”

“I’ll bet! I’m so jealous of that blonde guy! Sure you don’t want to ditch him and run away with me?”

“Nope! But thanks for the offer!” Shane replied, doing a serpentine maneuver with his hips that seemed to rob his dance partner briefly of breath.

“Damn! Guess I’ll just have to pick somebody else!” The man looked decidedly disappointed, which helped to stroke Shane’s ego nicely.

“Yes, you will! But after this little display, you can have your pick!” Shane pointed out, a little breathlessly.

‘Too true!” that made him brighten up, and his eyes began to scan the club as he continued to move with Shane, obviously looking for his next sexual conquest. 

Shane gave himself up to the joy of movement, of animal rhythm and the pounding of his heart as he showed off what he could do. Finally, though, the song ended. He did a list flip of his hip, then laughed and punched his dance partner lightly on the shoulder. “Thanks for the dance, man!” he called.

“No, thank you!” the man replied with a wink. There were already a dozen guys headed determinedly in his direction, as he turned to greet them with relish. Shane left quickly, not wanting his own entourage to develop. He returned quickly to Barret’s side, reaching out to cup the blonde’s elbow in his hand. “So what did you think?” he asked.

Barret stared at him in complete awe, mingling with a look that made Shane’s cock stand up and take notice. “You were…awesome!!” Barret cried enthusiastically. “You’re SUCH a good dancer! I wish I could dance like that!”

“Let me give you some pointers,” Shane told him, and gently dragged him onto the dance floor. 

 

Barret might have protested, but then Shane put his hands on Barret’s hips and began to move them. He gasped and said nothing, his eyes glazing over. Shane grinned to himself as he began to move just a little, showing Barret how to move with him. This was just foreplay, he thought. A little bit of the kind of movements that they’d be doing a lot of later on, if he could talk Barret into bed later tonight. He pushed his groin out so that it just brushed against Barret’s, and let the little cutie feel how hard he was. The blue eyes widened, and Barret lost his footing briefly. Shane held him up, smiling like a wolf, his eyes gleaming. He swayed against Barret, and the blonde got a dreamy expression on his face and forgot his nervousness. Shane felt satisfaction. He strongly suspected that any objections that Barret might have had about them ending up in bed together had all gone out the window. Along with his inhibitions and any ability to reason or have higher brain functions. God, he loved dancing. He really did.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sexy appetizer...

Barret was in a dream state. He was being held in Shane’s strong arms, as they swayed together on the dance floor. Hew could feel the press of Shane’s erection against his abdomen, and the feel of it was making him giddy. He looked up into Shane’s hot eyes, seeing the lust burning there - lust that was just for HIM, little ol’ Barret - and he felt a surge of desire so strong it stole his breath. He panted a little, mesmerized by Shane’s gaze, unable to look away.

Shane bent his head a little. “I want you,” he breathed, and somehow Barret could hear him over the throbbing, pounding music. “You wanna get out of here?”

Did he ever! Barret nodded dumbly, and the fire that lit up Shane’s eyes at his gesture threatened to finish Barret off altogether. Shane grabbed his hand and began to pull him relentlessly off the dance floor, heading for the door. Barret let himself be tugged along, anticipation thrilling through him. All he wanted was to find a private place(preferably with a bed) where he and Shane could come to the inevitable conclusion of the seductive dance they’d just been engaged in. 

 

Outside, the cool air caressed his skin and helped to drive away some of the fog in his brain. This didn’t make him protest, however, as Shane opened the door of his truck and helped Barret inside. The hands at his waist made his skin feel hot, and when one of them lightly squeezed his ass before Shane closed the door, Barret only gasped and shuddered lightly.   
Shane hurried around to his side of the truck and jumped in. “Where to? Your place or mine?” He asked Barret urgently. 

“I-I don’t care. Wherever you want to go. Let’s just go!” Barret cried, so worked up he could barely breathe.

Shane nodded. “Your place, then. Mine’s kind of a dump. If that’s okay?”

Barret nodded and gave him directions to his house in a hoarse voice. Shane peeled out of the parking lot of the dance club, not caring if he got a ticket. He drove recklessly but not dangerously, and neither of them said anything as they both looked forward to what was coming. Shane pulled at the curb in front of Barret’s little house, jumping out of the truck and hurrying around to his side to give Barret a hand in descending. 

Shane kept a hold of his hand, and they hurried up the front walk together. Barret rooted around in his pocket for the keys to the front door, cursing softy as his explorations were somewhat thwarted by how tight his pants were. But finally he found what he was looking for, and pulled them out with a flourish. He fumbled with the door, while Shane stood silently by his side and waited. 

 

Finally, he managed to get the door open. He pushed it inward. “Please come inside,” he told Shane, who nodded and followed him into his tiny foyer.

No sooner were they inside and the door shut behind them, then Shane turned and pulled Barret into his arms. His mouth found Barret’s, and a hot, hungry kiss ensued. Both men moaned as their tongues tangled together wildly, and Shane’s hands drifted down Barret’s sides and cupped his ass. His fingers squeezed and caressed, making Barret nearly whimper into his mouth. 

“God, I want you naked,” Shane growled when their lips finally parted.

Barret moaned again, arching his neck and shivering in Shane’s embrace.   
Shane’s hands came up to start on the buttons at the front of the shirt that Barret was wearing. Barret, meanwhile, was letting his own hands roam under the shiny blue shirt, which wasn’t helping Shane’s concentration AT ALL. But he finally got the buttons undone, and shoved the shirt off of Barret’s shoulders. 

He made a low sound at the sight of Barret’s bare chest, and his thumbs flicked over two tiny pink nipples. Barret cried out at this stimulation, as Shane bent his head and licked at the side of Barret’s neck. Then he was doing a little dance, waltzing Barret into his living room and down onto his couch. Shane bent over him, his fingers making quick work of the front of Barret’s pants, getting them open to reveal the bulge there to his hot gaze.   
Shane’s knees hit the floor, and he leaned in to rub his face against that bulge lightly. Barret cried out again, incoherently, and lifted his hips. 

Shane’s fingers caught in the waistband of the pants and yanked them down ruthlessly, divesting Barret of everything but his briefs in mere seconds. He blew hot breath on the cock twitching excitedly in the stretched cotton, and Barret whimpered and begged wordlessly for some relief. 

Shane licked at the cotton, mouthed at it, learning the shape of Barret’s dick with his mouth. Barret made little sounds of despairing pleasure, because his trapped cock was throbbing and starting to hurt a bit. He just wanted it to be free of its prison, for Shane to touch, lick, and kiss it. “Please, please!” he cried. “Shane!”

Taking pity on him at last, Shane gripped the waistband of the briefs and pulled them down, too. Barret’s cock, leaking and twitching, was free at last. He moaned happily, then cried out and sank his fingers into Shane’s hair as a hot mouth engulfed him and began to suck. “Oh, oh!” he moaned. “Yes!”

Shane bobbed his head, his lips sinking down to take in more of Barret before he would pull back again. His hands stroked Barret’s bare thighs, holding him in place a he continued his blow job. He liked the taste of the pretty cock in his mouth, of the juices flowing over his tongue as Barret shuddered under him. His fingers found a pair of tight balls, and he stroked them lovingly as he drove all the way down and took Barret to the root. 

A loud cry, and Barret humped up wildly into his mouth as he began to come. Shane swallowed him down, taking it all, enjoying the semen flowing down his throat. Barret collapsed, panting and spent, his face and chest rose-pink form his flush. He looked adorable in his sated state, and Shane licked his lips as he lifted his head. He’d thoroughly enjoyed that. Barret was the sexiest little thing! Making him come was a wonderful pastime. One he intended to indulge in as often as possible from now on.

Barret came back off of Cloud 9 after a short time, blinking up at Shane. The other man was leaning over him, a decided smirk on his scruffily handsome face. Barret felt himself blush a little, even as he smiled shyly. “Liked that, did you?” Shane growled in satisfaction.

He nodded. “It was…so good,” he croaked.

Shane’s smirk grew. “Glad to hear it.”

He settled on the couch next to Barret, reaching out to put his arm around the smaller man and pull him close. Barret realized that Shane was totally naked, now, too. His body was hard and strong-looking, with a thatch of dark hair on his chest and leading in a trail toward his groin. He reached out to feel it, to revel in the gorgeous body of the naked man sitting next to him. Shane sat still and let him explore, drawing in a sharp breath as Barret’s fingertips found his flat male nipples and caressed over them. 

Barret turned and bent over Shane, eager to explore and taste every inch of that beautiful body. Shane continued to sit still and let him do whatever he would. Barret stuck out his tongue and licked a trail over Shane’s collarbone and down to one of his nipples, sucking it into his mouth. Shane groaned under him at the feel. 

A hand petted his blond curls as he lapped at Shane’s nipple like a kitten. “Feels good, baby,” he crooned above Barret’s head.

Barret moved down even lower, outlining those strong abdominal muscles with his tongue. His ultimate destination, the hard cock lying against Shane’s thighs, drew his attention like a magnet. He licked at his lips in anticipation, then bent over even further and lapped at the leaking tip with his tongue. Shane groaned again, lifting his hips as Barret circled the helmet with his tongue, then licked under the head at the sensitive spot just above the shaft. One small hand encircled Shane’s cock, holding it in place so Barret could lick a trail down the shaft. His nostrils quivered as he took in the manly scent of sweat and the musk of Shane’s powerful body. He nuzzled at the hard length with his nose, then opened his mouth and drove down on the lovely cock that was all his. 

Shane pushed up a bit to drive more of his cock into Barret’s hot, welcoming little mouth. He made a low, animal sound in the back of his throat as Barret suckled at him with intensity, and his fingers tangled in the blonde curls once again. Barret didn’t seem to mind when he took control of the movement of his head using those curls, and simply sucked even harder.  
Barret suddenly jerked his head free. Shane might have protested(he was pretty close to coming) but forgot his outrage when a sweet pink tongue began to lap at his balls instead. Barret’s hand stroked his cock at the same time, and Shane closed his eyes and shuddered as Barret sucked at one of his balls like it was a giant round piece of candy. Barret’s skilled hand stroked him from root-to-tip, as he mouthed at Shane’s testicle. He couldn’t hold back anymore - he said Barret’s name on a low, harsh sound as he began to spurt all over his own chest and stomach and Barret’s coaxing hand.

“Fuck,” he whispered, closing his eyes as aftershocks of his orgasm raced through his body. 

He felt wetness, and opened his eyes again to see that Barret was licking his come off of his body. He groaned at the sight of it, so turned on that he might have become hard again if he hadn’t just come like less than a minute ago. He watched as Barret cleaned off his skin, that pink tongue flashing as it was dragged over his skin. Barret’s eyes met his, a gleam in their blue depths that made Shane shudder. What sexy creature Barret was! He reached out and dragged Barret up into his lap, their bare skin rubbing together as he kissed Barret with intensity. His hands slid down Barret’s back and found his tight little ass, caressing the cheeks as he continued to kiss Barret. 

He licked at Barret’s swollen lower lip as their mouths finally parted. They gazed into each other’s eyes as Shane smiled wickedly. “That was a good appetizer,” he husked. “But I can’t wait to move on to the main course.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hee Hee! Bad, BAD author! :P

To Shane’s surprise, Barret pulled back from his embrace. “I…”He began huskily. “That was wonderful, Shane. But I don’t think we should go any further tonight.”

Shane wanted to groan aloud. “Why?!” He almost wailed, aware that he sounded like a petulant little boy but unable to help himself. His body wanted to take this dance to its inevitable conclusion. 

Barret sighed, sliding off of his lap and starting to tuck himself back into his pants. “It’s only our second date,” he pointed out.

Shane’s brows drew together in bewilderment. “So?” 

Barret shook his head. “I usually like to get to know a guy a little better before I jump into bed with him,” he explained, zipping up his pants. “I know we got carried away just now, but that’s because you’re such an amazing dancer. I lost my head. But I’d still like to get to know you better before we actually have full-on sex. I’m just not the kind of guy who jumps into bed with other guys right away. I’m sorry if that bothers you, but it’s just the way I am,” he added apologetically.

Shane grimaced, but sat up on the couch. “It’s okay,” he said reluctantly. “I get it. And I wanted to move away from one-night stands and casual hook-ups where you’re concerned, because I could see you weren’t the kind of guy who’d go for that kind of thing. I’ll live if we have to wait a bit longer for the main course. Though it’ll be painful,” he added, mock-grimacing again as he gingerly got himself in order.

Barret smiled at him. “Thank you for understanding, Shane,” he said gratefully.

Shane rose to his feet. “Hey, a gentleman doesn’t insist when his date turns him down for sex. That’s just the rules. I’m just happy that sex might still be in our future sometime soon. It will be, right?” He asked, looking keenly at Barret.

“I hope so,” Barret replied fervently. “Because I’m really looking forward to it.”

 

“Me, too,” Shane agreed. “Listen, I should get going. If I hang around here much longer, I might forget my good intentions and try to seduce you anyway.”

Barret’s smile was crooked this time. “And if I let you stay much longer, I might just let you do that,” he agreed, walking Shane to his front door.  
Shane leaned over for a light kiss on his mouth. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he told Barret.

“I’ll be waiting,” Barret told him, trying not to sound hopelessly eager. He didn’t succeed very well. Shane grinned and pecked his lips one last time, before he strolled away down the front walk to his truck. Barret stood and watched him go, feeling wistful. He should have just given in to temptation and let Shane fuck his brains out. What an idiot he was! Sticking to his principles had never been harder….and certain parts of his anatomy had never been harder, either…

 

Shane groaned as he stood in his shower, his hand on his dick. He was stroking himself slowly, thinking of the way Barret’s face had looked with his mouth stretched wide over Shane’s cock. God that had looked so sexy! He tightened his fingers and came, practically roaring his pleasure. He stood with his head hanging, wishing that he was still with Barret. In Barret’s bed. Making the beast with two backs, over and over again…

He supposed he understood where Barret was coming from, but it hadn’t been easy to accept. He wasn’t used to this whole ‘dating and taking it slow’ thing. Most of the guys he’d hooked up with before this had been of the ‘handshake and then fuck’ variety. Still, he WAS trying something different. That included all kinds of differences, even somewhat frustrating ones. He’d just have to live with it until he could talk Barret into his bed. He hoped that would be soon. Damn if that crafty (in all senses of the word) little blond hadn’t put some kind of spell on him. All he could think about these days was Barret.

He got cleaned up and stepped out of the shower. His bed looked both messy (he seldom bothered to make it in the mornings) and empty. He imagined Barret there, under the covers, maybe working on one of his little craft projects as they watched late night TV together. When he realized what he was thinking, Shane was brought up short. Instead of imagining hot fucking, he was imagining the two of them acting like an old married couple! Was that a good thing or a bad thing? He wasn’t quite sure, but the whole incident made him feel uneasy. So he put it out of his mind and crawled into bed, only thinking of Barret occasionally as he drifted off to sleep.

 

Barret was in a good mood as he opened the store the next morning. He couldn’t help but remember last night, the dancing, and what had happened AFTER the dancing. Man, he really was turning into a total slut! He’d sucked Shane’s cock like a man demon-possessed, and had come a hair’s breath away from dragging him off to his bedroom to have hot sex together all night. And while that may not have been a bad thing, he was still glad that he’d managed to get a hold of himself enough to put the kibosh on him and Shane having sex. While it would have been the hottest thing ever, he knew he’d have felt guilty and uneasy about it this morning. He just wasn’t the type of person who was comfortable with jumping into bed with a near-total stranger, which Shane was. They still knew very little about one another, nor did they know if they were compatible as a couple rather than just sexually. He wanted to take this a little slower, because there was less chance he’d get hurt if Shane dumped him because whatever madness had made him ask Barret out in the first place had worn off. Barret always tended to give a bit of his heart to a guy when he gave his body to him, so if they had sex too soon and Shane DID dump him, he’d be devastated. He was trying to protect himself as best he could. 

He smiled at one of his customers, Mrs. Jarvis, an arthritic but still sharp-minded old lady. She gave him a shrewd, assessing look in return. “Got some last night, did you?” She asked.

Barret almost choked. “Uh, what?!” he cried, feeling his cheeks flame.

She snorted. “I’m old but I’m not dead, young man,” she drawled. “And I know men. You definitely have the look of a man who got some.”

Barret wondered distantly if it were possible to die of embarrassment. “Mrs. Jarvis…” he began weakly.

 

She waved what he was trying to say off. “Oh, don’t get in such a taking, Barret. I won’t make you tell me any details. This time,” she added with a wicked twinkle in her eyes.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, like a landed fish. She chuckled and wandered away to talk to another little old lady, Mrs. Seaton, over by the coffee pot, leaving poor Barret to try to recover his aplomb. There was nothing worse than being asked a question like that by a woman old enough to be your grandmother. A woman who was DEFINITELY somebody’s grandmother! Oh, God. Could he just sink through the floor now and disappear forever?

Fortunately for him, his cell phone rang just then. When he pulled it out, he saw that it was Shane calling. Forgetting his embarrassment, he put the phone to his ear. “Good morning, Shane,” he said happily.

“Morning, Barret. How are the arts and crafts going this morning?”

“Don’t ask,” Barret said, thinking of Mrs. Jarvis. “You really, REALLY don’t want to know!”

“OOokkayyy. Did you want to go out again tonight? After that, I’ve got a couple 24 hour shifts in a row. So we won’t be able to go out again until Saturday or Sunday.”

“I’d love to,” Barret said. “Maybe we could actually see that movie this time? I promise not to hog all the popcorn.”

Shane chuckled. “It’s a date. Shall I pick you up at six again?”

“I’ll be here with bells on,” Barret told him.

“And whistles too?” Shane asked, laughing.

“Maybe. You’ll just have to wait and see,” Barret told him coyly. 

“Can’t wait. See you then.”

“See you then,” Barret agreed. He hung up his phone, smiling. His eyes happened to catch Mrs. Jarvis’, and she smirked and winked at him. Barret’s face flooded with color, and he took his once-again horribly embarrassed self into the back to open some boxes, away from Mrs. Jarvis’ sharp eyes…

 

The movie they’d picked to see was a raunchy comedy. Both of them were enjoying it thoroughly, though Barret got somewhat distracted when Shane reached over to grab the bucket of popcorn and his hand brushed Barret’s thigh. He almost dropped the popcorn, and Shane had to rescue it. He grinned maliciously when Barret glared at him, which told Barret the bastard had done it on purpose! Shane serenely began to eat popcorn, while Barret fumed and planned his revenge.

He got it when Shane had to get up to use the restroom. As he slid by, Barret reached up and grabbed his fine butt. He gave a brisk squeeze, which made Shane stiffen (In several ways, he was sure) and growl at him. Barret merely smirked and ate some of the popcorn, and Shane huffed and shook his head before departing for the restroom. Barret was pleased to see that he walked a little bent over and somewhat funny. He cackled to himself. Payback was a bitch!

 

When the end credits rolled, they got up and left the theater together. “That was great!” Barret said enthusiastically.

“Yeah,” Shane agreed. “Although it still seems strange to me that you like those kinds of movies…”

“What? A pansy guy like me has to go for stuff like historical dramas and chick flicks, right?” Barret said sharply. 

Shane eyed him. “No, of course not. But I bet you like those kinds of movies, too,” he added, grinning.

Barret tried to pretend that he didn’t, but finally gave up and shrugged. “Fine, I do. But I don’t like it when you stereotype me, Shane. I don’t do that to you, and I have a LOT to work with here. I could always assume that you’re a testosterone-fueled Neanderthal, but I don’t.”

“Actually, you should,” Shane told him complacently. “Because that’s what I am. Guilty as charged. But is that such a bad thing? Anymore than you being an artsy type is a bad thing? Because it isn’t, you know.”

Barret sighed. “No. But try to stereotype a bit less, okay? It kind of hurts my feelings when you make assumptions about me.”

“I’m sorry,” Shane said contritely, reaching out to pull him close. “I’ll try to do better from now on. I promise. Forgive me?”

He gave Barret his best ‘little boy’ begging eyes, and he yielded and giggled breathily. “Okay. But don’t let it happen again!” he added, bopping Shane on the nose with his fingertip.

“Aye, aye, Cap’n,” Shane said, pulling back a little to give him a crisp salute. “Shall we go and find something to eat now? Something besides popcorn, that is?”

“Sounds like a plan, Stan,” Barret agreed, and they headed for his truck together.


End file.
